1. Technical Field
The embodiments described herein generally relate to automated processing of images captured by a mobile device, and more particularly to processing mobile images of driver's licenses and extracting content therefrom.
2. Related Art
A driver's license (DL) or government-issued identification card is ubiquitous in modern society. The DL is the most widely used form of personal identification and finds most of its uses outside of its original purpose as a license to operate an automobile. The popularity of the DL as an identification card is largely due to the security of the card and the measures taken by the issuing entity to prevent it from being duplicated or faked. A typical DL has a multitude of protections built into the design, layout, material, font and shape of the card which make it difficult to replicate. These security measures become ever more complicated.
A large reason for the popularity of the DL is the information that it contains. A DL usually contains at least the owner's name, picture, address, date of birth, and a license number, with some DLs also containing a phone number, signature and physical description of the owner (eye and hair color, weight, height). This information is invaluable when the identity of the owner needs to be verified.
Verifying a person's identity with the DL is easy to accomplish when the person is physically present, as the DL information can be compared with the actual person to match their physical description and picture, or when verifying whether a method of payment (such as a credit card or check) is authentic. However, when completing an electronic payment transaction, the DL is much less useful, as there are no methods for a vendor accepting an electronic payment to use the DL to verify the identity of the payor. Other circumstances exist where a person may want to use their DL, such as submitting an online application for car insurance, a bank account or a credit card.
Therefore, there is a need for obtaining information from a driver's license for use in an electronic transaction.